Man charged in dual attack

CRIME WATCH

August 05, 2008

A 53-year-old Baltimore man faces attempted murder charges in an attack on two women in North Laurel, Howard County police said yesterday.

Acting on a tip, police arrested Raymond Watson under a bridge near Stevens Forest Road and Woodside Court in Columbia about 9:30 p.m. Sunday, police said. Watson was being sought in the knife attack Friday night on two women in front of their home.

According to police, a 44-year-old woman who once had a relationship with Watson emerged from the house to find a man she identified as the suspect hiding in the bushes. He sprang at her with a knife and crowbar and began assaulting her, police said. The woman's 17-year-old daughter then came outside and was also attacked. The man then ran, leaving his pickup truck parked nearby in Savage Park.

Both women, whom police did not name, suffered multiple stab wounds and were flown to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. They were released after treatment, according to a Howard police spokesman.